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Committee reviews seven policy updates tied to Act 33 school-safety changes and deepfake language; board action pending
Summary
The Education People Services Committee reviewed proposed updates to seven district policies to align with Pennsylvania Act 33 of 2023 and to add language treating artificially generated media as equivalent to real images for disciplinary purposes.
The Education People Services Committee reviewed proposed updates to seven district policies that district staff said are intended to align the student-discipline and safety policy suite with Pennsylvania’s recent school-safety changes and to clarify how artificially generated media is treated under acceptable-use rules.
Mr. Desnoyers told the committee the seven policies under consideration were 146.1 (trauma-informed approach), 218 (student discipline and restorative practices), 218.1 (weapons), 218.2 (terroristic threats), 323 (tobacco and vaping products), 351 (controlled substance abuse), and 815 (acceptable use of Internet, computers and network resources). He said most changes respond to Pennsylvania Act 33 of 2023, which amended the school code on safety and security, and that updates to policies 103 and 104 (Title IX-related) would be considered separately at a special voting meeting later in the evening.
On policy 815, staff explained an explicit update to treat "artificially generated media" (for example, deepfake images or video) the same as images or video of actual persons or events when evaluating whether material violates district policy. "If a deep fake image or a ... image falls afoul of one of our policies, it will be treated as such," Mr. Desnoyers said.
The committee discussed the proposed changes and whether the district should expand training and guidance for staff to implement the updated expectations; members also raised timing and coordination questions with county resources. When asked, committee members indicated they were "comfortable moving the policies forward" for subsequent board consideration; the presenters said the changes would still require formal board action at a future meeting before taking effect.
No formal vote to adopt the policies occurred at the committee meeting; the discussion served as a committee review and a recommendation to place the edits on the board's upcoming agenda for approval.
